


Could Be

by ladyofdecember



Category: The Venture Bros
Genre: Drinking, Family Fluff, M/M, New York City, Partying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-02
Updated: 2017-07-25
Packaged: 2018-05-30 19:55:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6438073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladyofdecember/pseuds/ladyofdecember
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: "The Morning After"</p><p>Billy and White go out on the town for their first night in New York. Things are confusing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a prompt from Tumblr.

They hadn’t been in New York long but they were already having a blast. Since they’d asked for an advance on their salaries from Rusty, they had plenty of spending capital to “live it up” as it were, in the big apple.

White hadn’t really been interested in going out, like, at all. He was more of a homebody but like with anything, if Billy pestered him enough, eventually he could get him to give in to whatever he wanted.

Flashing neon lights combined with an ever present beat that seemed to emanate from the pavement itself, surrounded the two as they made their way down the sidewalk. They were downtown, amassed by a large crowd of people, who were interested in the same thing they were, getting where the action was.

They passed a multitude of bars and nightclubs, girls scantily dressed, men who were intoxicated beyond belief. The two took their time strolling along, trying not to get swept away from one another by the massive crowd.

Cameras flashed near them and the two paused to look towards a large group of people at the corner of the intersection ahead. A car had pulled over and was obstructing traffic as the masses crowded it, making it impossible to see just who was in the convertible. Someone famous no doubt.

Screams sounded as the public began to lose their mind over this celebrity. Billy pouted, unable to see just what was going on.

He tugged on White’s suit jacket sleeve. “What’s going on?! Who is it?!”

“I dunno, pally! I can’t see.” He shrugged, disinterested.

“Well, we gotta get closer!” Billy insisted, beginning to leap in the air fruitlessly.

“Who cares? Look, why don’t we just go back to your mom’s house-”

“No way! White, we are in New York City! This is amazing! Are you kidding me right now?!”

The two faced each other, seemingly at an impasse as more and more people shoved past them to swarm the car at the end of the street.

White sighed. “Fine. Where do you want to go?”

Billy, beaming up at him, anxiously began glancing around at the street filled with stores, shops and clubs and the like. “How about some drinks?”

“I guess I could get behind that.” White grinned.

“That’s the spirit! Can you believe it, White? Look at us! Finally successful!”

They ventured further down the street in search of the perfect bar. White smirked at the man. “Well, I wouldn’t say that. I mean, we’ll see Monday morning when we have our first product meeting with Rust.”

“We’re gonna be great, just you watch!” Billy insisted. “We’re Conje-”

He paused, verbally and physically on the side of the street, White nearly bumping into him from behind. He glanced back at the man worriedly. “Who are we now?”

White was taken back by the man’s words, suddenly sounding so soft and insecure. He didn’t like the look on the little guy.

“We’re… you and me, buddy.” He tried to appease him, smiling down at him. “That’s all we need to know.”

Billy nodded, feeling confident once more and smiling up at him. “Yeah. You’re right. That is all we need! High five!”

“…let’s just go in the bar.”

…

Everything ached. Everything. Billy didn’t know or couldn’t remember at least, the last time he’d felt so bad. He was laying in a bed, covered in silken sheets that felt too cool to the touch. The entire room was white, or at least, it seemed like it was. Maybe that was just the sun?

Speaking of which, it hurt to keep his eyes open and so he shut them and rolled over, trying to hide his entire face down in the pillow. But as he did so, he abruptly bumped into another person, super warm to the touch, his bare skin touching theirs.

Now this wasn’t entirely unusual. He often would wake up next to White, though never unclothed like he appeared to be currently. It wasn’t something they talked about much, or like, ever. But it happened. They used to share a bed routinely back at the trailer. That had started about a year ago since they had just found it easier to pass out together in the same place after a late night, rather than one of them having to get up and go to the couch or booth in the main part of the trailer.

But back to the current issue. Perhaps, after having so much to drink last night, he had not fallen asleep next to White and this was someone else entirely. His heart clenched up in a sudden terror. Why would it matter if he had? What was he afraid of? White being mad? Why would he be mad?

Too many questions rocked his brain and it was too early in the morning and he was too hungover to deal with them right now.

Cracking an eye open once more, his vision swam for a moment before settling down and realizing that pale skin was obscuring his view of the person. Well, this was a good sign.

Sitting all the way up on one of his elbows, he realized that it was indeed White he had been sleeping next to. The man lay unconscious, the cream colored sheets that covered them laid lightly just at waist level of the man. He was obviously topless but were they both entirely naked?

Something in him panicked and he quickly found himself unable to swallow for a second. Something about this whole situation worried him but he wasn’t sure what.

He knew that he was naked, obviously, he could feel that much. Glancing around the strange room and over at the floor to ceiling windows, he quickly realized that they were in the Venture penthouse. Of course. It had been so obvious.

White was beginning to wake up, shifting slightly here and there as his eyes blinked open.

‘Oh no.’ Billy thought as his heart began hammering in his chest. He watched as White sat up on his elbows, blinking wearily around the room before his gaze settled on Billy.

“Pally?” He asked tiredly.

“Yes?”

“We had way too much to drink.” White grimaced, shutting one eye and leaving the other open to watch Billy.

The smaller man gulped nervously and nodded. “Yeah… “

He wondered how long it’d take the man to realize their situation. Not very long because only a second later, White glanced down at the sheet covering the two of them.

He licked his lips. “Pally?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you naked?”

“Yeah… “

White narrowed his eyes in confusion at the sheet. “Am I?”

Billy blinked at him silently before shrugging. “I dunno… “

White checked below the sheet before letting it fall back in place. He stared at Billy for a second.

Billy just quirked an eyebrow.

“Yeah… “ He offered then, as the two stared out at the window quietly.

There was a sudden, obnoxious knock on the bedroom door and a moment later their long time friend’s face poked in, way too cheerful for this early in the morning.

“Who wants waffles?” He sing-sang as he carried in a tray of just that, waffles with syrup and butter.

“Oh.” Rusty stopped abruptly at the scene before him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love silly little domestic stuff with the Venture family so there's a lot of that in this. As is often the case with drinking so much you "black out", it's not inherently clear if anything happened with Billy and White as you'll see.
> 
> ...
> 
> Anacin is a little known pain reliever similar to Tylenol as it also contains caffeine. Invented in 1916, Anacin is one of the oldest brands of pain relievers in the United States, first beginning sales in the 1930s. Anacin had a large advertisement behind the center field fence in Yankee Stadium from the 1950s through 1973, prior to the stadium's renovation in 1974 and 1975. Thus, it began to fall out of popularity around this time.

Sitting uncomfortably at the Venture's kitchen table, Billy and White stared at their hands, each folded neatly on the table top. They had scrambled to find their respective clothes, Rusty having quickly excused himself before the both of them headed out to meet their host.

No one else in the family had made an appearance yet thankfully so at least they had the quiet time to try to figure out just what had happened. Rusty too had disappeared for a bit, mumbling he had to check something upstairs. The plate of waffles sat on the counter top nearby untouched. Neither man dared to move now that they had slunk into their places in the booth.

Billy took a deep breath, readying himself for a very worrisome conversation. Eyeing the living room to confirm they were still alone, he began, “White, we need to figure out what happened last night.”

“What do you mean?” An entirely too high pitched albino responded, averting his gaze from his friend entirely.

“You know very well what I mean! We need to determine if we actually... uh... you know?”

White rolled his eyes and waved the man off. “Please, just 'cause we had a few drinks, ya think we... actually... did that.”

It seemed both were incapable of actually having this conversation right now.

The room grew silent until Billy slid closer to the man, trying to ignore the sting he felt when he saw White flinch at the movement. He sighed. “Look, I'm not saying we did... I just... we should talk about it, right?”

Before White could respond, Rusty and Brock descended from the stairs and made their way in to the kitchen. 

“Well!” Rusty said, all smiles once more. “Who wants breakfast?”

Brock sat down in the booth on the side where Billy had once sat, meaning the two were stuck sitting this close permanently. “I'll just have some coffee.”

“Nonsense. You're eating some waffles.”

“I'm trying to watch my intake, Doc.”

Rusty gave him a pinched look as he set a plate of a stack of waffles in front of the man. He said nothing as he placed slabs of butter and poured syrup on top of the stack. Brock sighed and began to dig in.

Venture then gave each of them a plate to enjoy as well before setting about making some more in front of their enormous gas range.

“So what's your deal?” Brock uttered between bites, eyeing the two men.

“'Scuse me?” White asked, trying to play nonchalant. 

“Don't give me that! Somethin's goin' on.”

“You're paranoid.” Billy jumped in with a smirk. “Maybe it's good you're stepped down from the OSI. It was getting to you.”

“Hey, I didn't step down, alright? I just... I'm taking a little vacation.” The blonde insisted, jabbing at his food with his fork violently.

“He just couldn't stay away from us!” Rusty sang from in front of the stove, glancing back at the group with a look like a lovesick housewife.

“Hey, I think it's great! Who doesn't want to live in New York City?” Billy gushed, forgetting the awkwardness as he dug in to his food.

“Pally, would ya stop with that?”

“What?”

“Stop callin' it 'New York City'! It's just New York, alright?” White grumbled.

Dean and Hank came racing down the stairs and in to the kitchen, shoving each other as they headed towards the table.

“Hey! Hey! Settle down!” Brock's authoritative voice boomed as he quickly reached out to grab Hank's shirt and pull him back towards him. “What are you doin'?!”

Dean cackled victoriously as he changed direction and headed towards Rusty for some food. Hank pouted at Brock. “He started it!”

“You guys are grown now and I'm tired of this.” Brock said, wiping his face free of sticky syrup and letting the boy go as he stared him down. “No more fighting. You've got to learn to get along! You're all you have in this world.”

“Well, we have you guys.” Hank said obstinately.

“Not good enough. One day we're not gonna be here.”

The blonde frowned at this statement, recalling a time when Brock had actually left and not been around for a few years. He decided he'd better mind him and sat down at the table next to him, growing silent.

Dean joined them at the table along with Rusty and soon all of them settled into an easy silence as they enjoyed their breakfast.

White paused in his eating to press an open palm to his face in pain.

“What's wrong?” Billy asked worriedly, fork in mid air.

“It's nothin'. It's just my head, it's killin' me.”

“I have some Anacin if you want.” Rusty offered through a mouthful of food.

White squinted at his friend. “Anacin? Do they... do they even make that anymore?”

“What the hell is Anacin?” Brock said while still chewing his food.

Rusty looked affronted. “It's a... it's a pain reliever! It's for headaches! And yes they still make it, Mr. Funny Man!” He began poking at his food again. “Fine, if you don't want any... “

“Ugh, yes please, anything to get rid of this headache!” White said, pushing his food away and putting his head in his hands.

Dean watched as his father excused himself from the table before turning to Brock. “Hey Brock, is it okay if I go out with my friend Jared today?”

Hank smirked as he continued eating and Brock finished his food, pushing the plate away. 

“That depends, where ya goin'?” He asked him, raising an eyebrow.

“Well nowhere specifically.” He shrugged, still eyeing the living room to make sure his father wasn't returning yet.

“Nowhere, huh?”

“Well, we were going to go to the library and study a bit for our class together.”

Hank began to laugh, nearly choking on is waffles. “Yeah right! He's lyin'!”

Dean elbowed him hard in the stomach, causing him to really begin to choke. Brock eyed Dean suspiciously.

“I'm not lying! Why would I?” He tried to defend himself.

Rusty returned then and Dean went back to his food without another word. “Alright so I think it says you take two every six hours. I can't really make out the box anymore 'cause the text is all faded. But you get the idea!”

White took the two caplets gratefully and shoved them down his throat without any water. “Thank you.”

Billy winced. “You need some water, White?”

Rusty was already on it and bringing him a glass.

Sitting back in his chair, his arms behind his head, Brock turned to the bespectacled man. “Dean here wants to know if he can go hang out with that Jared kid.”

The younger Venture son sank down in his seat and said nothing.

Rusty beamed. “Oh really? Well, that's great! I'm glad you have a little friendship going with him!”

“It's not a... it's... ugh.” He mumbled in response, stuffing waffle in his mouth to avoid saying anything else.

Hank finished his plate and stood up to collect the other's. “Dean's got a boyfriend and he's all embarrassed.”

And that was it, the final straw. Dean threw down his fork so hard, it clattered on the plate in front of him and pounced on his older brother, knocking him to the floor. The blonde had just enough time to drop the plates with a clatter on the table.

Brock stood up quickly, joining Rusty who was staring down at the twins wrestling on the kitchen floor. 

“You two! Living room! Now!” Brock's deep voice boomed and echoed throughout the kitchen.

The Venture family retreated away in to the other room, leaving a stunned Billy and White but not before Rusty leaned his head back in to say, “Sorry, be just a moment.”

The two best friends sat together quietly for a moment, both finished with their food before Billy finally spoke up. He turned to White, looking up at his face intently. “White... I'm sorry if I... if I've messed anything up between us. I... I don't want you to be angry with me.”

There was a heavy silence between them, just a beat before White's brows pinched together in concern. “Of course ya didn't do anything, Billy! You... why do you say that?”

“I don't know. Last night... I know you don't want to talk about it. I have a feeling maybe I started it or caused it. I know I was the one that wanted to go out and drink and-”

White interrupted him, placing a hand on his shoulder gently. His headache was fading now and with the warm food in his stomach, he was feeling a bit better. “Hey, don't talk like that, pally. I wanted to go out with you and spend time with you. You're my best friend and no matter what happened last night, we may never know but just know that there's nothin' you could ever do to make me not want to be with you.”

Billy beamed up at him, feeling entirely too warm at just the innocent touch of the man's hand on his shoulder. His eyes seemed to grow brighter with this statement from the albino.

“I mean... not with ya, I meant hang out with ya, of course!” White corrected himself quickly, seeming to blush suddenly at the choice of words.

Billy grinned even bigger. “I know what you meant.”

And he did.


End file.
